Strong Inside Moves

King World's Inside Edition, with anchor Deborah Norville, started its 16th season with good news. In the first two weeks, the newsmagazine saw a 13% increase in its average national household rating to a 3.4 and a 17% increase in its adults 18-49 rating to a 1.4 compared with last year, according to Nielsen.

That household rating gives Inside Edition a 21% lead over NBC Enterprises' Access Hollywood. That show has narrowed the gap somewhat: Last year, Inside Edition was 25% ahead.

Inside Edition also has a 48% advantage over Warner Bros.' Extra at 2.3, vs. a 20% edge last year. Paramount's Entertainment Tonight remains the leader in the genre, averaging a 5.2, 53% higher than Inside Edition.

Improving the ratings are better station clearances in three major markets: Philadelphia, Washington, and Dayton, Ohio. In Philadelphia, Inside Edition moved from WGTW-TV at 4:30 p.m. to CBS-owned KYW-TV at 3:30 p.m., leading into the local news. In Washington, it moved from Allbritton's ABC affiliate WJLA-TV at 12:05 a.m. to Gannett's CBS affiliate WUSA-TV at 4:30 p.m., also ahead of local news. And in Dayton, it shifted from LIN's ABC affiliate WDTN-TV at 11:35 p.m. to Cox's CBS affiliate WHIO-TV at 4:30 p.m.

"Certainly, the clearance situation has helped a lot," says Charles Lachman, the show's executive producer. "I would also attribute the uptick to focused editorial content and heavy reliance on exclusive and investigative pieces." He hopes to ultimately climb to a 4.0 national household rating.

Moreover, Inside Edition has received favorable time changes. Young's KRON-TV San Francisco is double-running the show at 7 and 10 p.m. On Post-Newsweek's CBS affiliate WKMG-TV Orlando, Fla., it moved from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and, on LIN's NBC affiliate WOOD-TV Grand Rapids Mich., from noon to 7 p.m.